Preserving parsley

[Primrose]

My parsley plants are about to go to seed so I'd like to preserve what I can. How best can I dry/freeze large quantities? My husband has made lots of parsley pesto and I was wondering whether I can simply freeze it "au naturel" rather than processing it in some way.

[Gilly C]

I much prefer it fresh so I would plant some more and throw the rest to the chickens in my case or the compost heap. Mine survives outside all winter here as it is very mild , we are right on the coast !

[alan refail]

I agree with Gilly. I manage parsley all year round from 2 or 3 sowings. We always end up with a huge amount of seeding plants and find that at that stage the taste is becoming a lot coarser/stronger. You could simply freeze the leaves in plastic bags till you get new parsley. We have never done it, but I found you this:

http://www.gardeningdata.co.uk/herbs/he ... rozenherbs

Best of luck, and sow some more.

Alan

[Gerry]

Hi Primrose,
Have you tried cutting it right down. I tried this and it sprouted new growth. I don't know if this is how it always behaves though. Perhaps someone with more knowledge could comment on this.
Regards Gerry.

[alan refail]

Gerry

Cutting down works for a while, but like all biennials it will be desperate to seed and will send up lots of rapidly growing seed spikes - if acting normally, that is. Cutting down is good for keeping you in parsley for a while, but the real solution is to get some more sown and planted.

I ony grow flat-leaf parsley now, but in the past I seem to remember that curly parsley was much slower to go to seed.

Alan

[bigpepperplant]

I seem to remember some chef or other recommending chopping parsley up and freezing it in ice cube trays with water so that, when needed, you just chuck the cube into your casserole or whatever and the parsley comes out.

[Doctor Deb]

I wouldn't bother freezing it in water in ice cube trays- takes up too much freezer space and limits what you can do with it. Do what the commercial producers do and chop it, open freeze it( spread out on the chopping board), then seal in freezer bags. This works well for many herbs, but the tougher ones are best, like thyme or rosemary. Basil and French tarragon loose their texture, but flavour is well preserved. You can find them in the freezer section of supermarkets if you want to try them before doing your own.

[vivienz]

Hi Primrose,
Sorry for the late reply, I'm just back off holiday and have found, like you, all my established parsley going to seed. I have sown some more, but it's a bit too small to cut yet. I cut lots of the old stuff, chopped and stuffed into small containers, about the capacity of 4 match boxes each, and froze then tapped out into a freezer bag. It worked really well, colour is preserved and I haven't wasted all that lovely parsley. I didn't bother with oil or water, just packed into the boxes after chopping. This should keep me going till the new fresh stuff is ready to harvest.
Good luck,
Vivien

[Primrose]

Thanks Vivienz - I will try your method in future. I was all set to harvest all the remaining good stalks on my plants a week ago but sadly my father-in-law died who lives some distance away unexpectedly two weeks ago. We have had to spend a lot of time away from home and on returning today the whole garden seems to have disintegrated in our absence.

[vivienz]

Hi Primrose - very sorry to hear your sad news. It's not just the time away that takes its toll, but however long it takes you to get back onto an even keel. Whilst it puts the matter of what to do with your parsley into perspective, it's still good to escape to the veg garden and engage in some mindless digging or weeding as a diversion.
Best wishes,
Vivien

[Tigger]

Hugs and loves Primrose.

[Primrose]

Thank you ! Despite all the other pressing chores when we arrived home yesterday, I got out into the garden for a while and did a little weeding. I always find this a therapeutic activity whenever I need to escape whatever is pressing down on me.